N.Korean Troops Mass for Parade Rehearsal

North Korea is stepping up preparations for a military parade to celebrate its army founding day on Thursday.

Analysis of Planet satellite imagery shows that "there are now approximately 13,000 troops practicing on the training grounds (up from 12,000 on Jan. 28)," according to the 38 North website at Johns Hopkins University on Monday.

"There are still no signs of ballistic missile or unmanned aerial vehicle launchers on the parade ground or at the heavy equipment storage area," it added. "This is not unusual as some of these are likely stored at nearby military facilities."

The National Intelligence Service told the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee on Monday that it had detected movement of mobile missile launchers on the North Korean training ground.